Halo 3
"Finish the fight." : - Halo 3 tagline ''Halo 3 ''is a first-person shooter science fiction video game developed by Bungie Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360. However, due to the Xbox One's lack of backwards compatibility, it can not be played on its successor console. It is the third and last game in the main trilogy, and the sequel to Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2. Halo 3 ''was released on September 25, 2007. Its existence was due to the massive success of its two predecessors, a success it finalized with its release, eclipsing both of the previous games. Like the games before it, ''Halo 3 ''saw massive financial success, with $300 million dollars grossed within the first week of its release, and by January 3, 2008, it had sold 8.1 million copies. In the United States, it became the best-selling video game of that era. According to Bungie, as of March 2012, ''Halo 3, collectively with Halo 3 ODST, more than 11.5 billion games had been played. On November 9, 2014, Halo 3 ''would be released within ''Halo: The Master Chief Collection for Xbox One. Nothing changed for the game, aside from upgraded specs, including the game running at sixty frames per second and 1080 pixel resolution. Story Plot Halo 3's campaign is a step down in terms of the vast story-telling of Halo 2, and takes a much more linear approach like Halo: Combat Evolved, but still with that broad storytelling aspect. It is far more melancholic compared to Halo: Combat Evolved, and far more militaristic than the previous games. Again, like Halo 2, Halo 3 ''takes the player to far more locations than its predecessor, leaving the boundaries of the Halo rings, while also revisiting Earth (for a much longer time span than ''Halo 2, it can be noted). Halo 3 ''takes place directly after the events of ''Halo 2. John-117, last seen on Truth's dreadnought at the ending of Halo 2, is seen hurling through the atmosphere above Mount Kilimanjaro, in the East African Protectorate. Detaching from the dreadnought, John-117 jumps out and lands on the ground like an asteroid, landing in the midst of an African jungle. Later, a squad of marines led by Sergeant Johnson locate him, but come to the conclusion that he could not have survived the impact. Just as he recovers Cortana's chip, John-117 wakes up, grabs Johnson, and firmly states that he will not be left behind. When asked where Cortana is, he says "she stayed behind," referencing to her presence on High Charity. After going through a basic tutorial, the Arbiter Thel 'Vadam, deactivates his active camouflage, only to be tackled by John-117 with a magnum. Johnson manages to seperate them, telling John that he is an ally. After being given an assault rifle, John-117 accompanies the marine squad and Thel 'Vadam to an extraction zone. However, the Covenant Loyalists are found to have the region secured, with forces patrolling the area, stopping them leaving. Seperating, Johnson takes a squad of marines in a different direction, while John-117, Thel 'Vadam and another group of marines head in another. Along the way, they are forced to engage numerous Covenant forces. Reaching a river, they are about to extract when a squadron of Banshees arrive and shoot down both of the evac Pelicans. John-117 and Thel 'Vadam proceed to the crash site, where they then follow Johnson and the surviving marines to a hydro-electric dam. There, they find Johnson and his marines captured and being used as bait for a trap meant to lure in Thel 'Vadam and John-117. After an assault on the dam, they rescue Johnson and evac on Kilo 023. The Pelican arrives at Crow's Nest, a UNSC firebase used during the First Battle of Earth and now during the Second Battle of Earth. Landing, John-117 shakes hands with Miranda, before being taken to the operations center, to discuss their plan of attack in terms of stopping the Prophet of Truth from finding the Ark and activating it. Just as they discuss their plan with Lord Hood, their base loses power, only for Truth to appear on the screen, mocking them. After he is done, John-117 surmises that the address was the opening of a Covenant assault. Miranda, feeling the same thing, orders the base to be put on full alert. Proven right, Covenant Loyalists attack the base in full force. Despite valiant defense efforts, the arrival of a CCS-Class Battlecruiser renders the defense moot, and Miranda orders an evacuation, bringing back John-117 to the Ops Center to see the bomb she has armed. He then goes to the barracks to save some marines from the Brutes, before taking them to the landing pad for evac, where Thel 'Vadam then leaves with them. Johnson appears to inform them that the Brutes overwhelmed the Ops Center, and deactivated the bomb. John-117 retakes the Ops Center and rearms the bomb, before escaping at the last minute as the bomb detonates, destroying Crow's Nest and killing all the Covenant forces within. Waking up after, John-117 finds himself alive at the bottom of the elevator shaft, and hurriedly rallies surviving marine forces in a charge down Tsavo Highway, towards the town of Voi. They push through the Loyalist forces littered along the Highway, smashing through them while observing Truth's fleet uncovering the Ark in the background, where the ruins of both Mombasas used to be. Eventually, they reach the entrance to Voi, just as Miranda arrives with fresh reinforcements. John-117 and the reinforcements arrive within Voi, where they can see the Storm getting more intense above the Ark. They immediately launch their assault, breaking through the Covenant forces and eliminating an AA Wraith. They continue their push into the far side of the old coast, taking out two more AA Wraiths. Shortly afterwards, a Scarab appears and attacks the marine forces. John-117 manages to board and destroy it, before meeting up with Thel 'Vadam and pushing over to the far side, where they proceed to overrun the Covenant forces defending a Mantis AA gun, and destroy it. After doing so, they watch as three Charon-Class Light Frigates fly by with a flight of Longsword fighters, launching a mass assault on Truth's dreadnought. They are unable to stop Truth however, and he activates the Ark, which sends out an EMP wave that disables all three frigates and the fighters around it. Later, John-117 and Thel 'Vadam get up to find that the artifact actually wasn't the Ark itself, but merely a portal to it. Truth's dreadnought flies up into the portal, followed by the rest of Truth's fleet. Surprised, Hood demands answers, Miranda is confused and Thel 'Vadam roars his fury at watching Truth escape. However, their moment is ruined when a CCS-Class Battlecruiser, the Indulgence of Conviction, exits slipspace, heading towards Voi. They watch as it flies past, John-117 taking note that green gas seems to be pouring out of it, confirming that the ship is infected by the Flood. The ship crashes into Voi, unleashing its Flood cargo. Fleet of RetributionJohn-117 and Thel 'Vadam, with the Flood spreading rapidly, move quickly in an attempt to destroy the ship core and stem the Flood infection. However, not long after they begin battling the Flood forces, the separatist Fleet of Retribution, led by the flagship, a CAS-Class Assault Carrier Shadow of Intent, arrives over the town, deploying Separatist forces to help kill the spread. Fighting alongside the Elites, they manage to reach the wreckage of the Indulgence. They are contacted by Johnson, who tells them that the Elites think Cortana lies within the ship, as it came from High Charity. Still, John-117 goes within the wreckage and finds Cortana, but discovers it is only a message. 343 Guilty Spark arrives, trying to help, but John-117 is mistrustful. He eventually allows Spark to take the message, while boarding a separatist Phantom. They leave Voi and board the Shadow of Intent just as the Fleet of Retribution glasses Voi, putting a stop to the brief Flood outbreak. Rtas 'Vadum, now Fleet Master of the Fleet of Retribution and commander of the Shadow of Intent, speaks with Hood, Miranda, John-117, 343 Guilty Spark and Thel 'Vadam, who all listen to Cortana's message, which reveals that there is a way to stop the Flood permanently without activating the Halo rings, and that it lies on the Ark. However, she also reveals that High Charity, consumed by the Flood, is now on its way to Earth. Rtas swears to follow Truth and put an end to him, while Hood remains adamant on defending Earth. Rtas tries to convince him of the futility of this, especially with a Flood army bearing down on them, but Hood remains persistent. John-117 states that he believes Cortana has a solution to stop the Flood, and they must take the risk. Finally, Hood gives in, and gives Miranda the [[UNSC Forward Unto Dawn|UNSC Forward Unto Dawn]] and [[UNSC Aegis Fate|UNSC Aegis Fate]]. Shortly after, he departs to remain on Earth, while both frigates and the Fleet of Retribution go through the portal. The Fleet of Retribution quickly exits the portal over the Ark, where Truth's fleet is already waiting. Rtas 'Vadum orders his fleet to immediately engage Truth's fleet, while the Forward Unto Dawn ''deploys a flight of Pelicans to the surface, with John-117 onboard. Deploying, they quickly clear out the Loyalist forces in the area, allowing the ''Dawn ''to fully land on the surface, deploying an armoured regiment of Scorpion tanks. They, assisted by the Ark's sentinels, punch a hole through the Loyalist defenses surrounding the Silent Cartographer, even destroying another Scarab. Getting inside, Rtas proudly announces the destruction of Truth's fleet. Once inside, they quickly acertain the Ark's location, which is apparently outside the known galaxy, inside intergalactic space. They also discover the location of the Ark's Control Room, the Citadel, which is surrounded by three barrier towers. They immediately extract, moving towards the Citadel with all speed, hoping to catch Truth before he activates the Ark. A flight of UNSC Pelicans and Separatist Phantoms launches an assault on the Loyalist forces protecting the three barrier towers, with John-117 managing to disable the first one, and Thel 'Vadam and his Elites the second. Johnson however falls out of contact, so John-117 and Thel 'Vadam's forces combine to assault the third and final tower. With Johnson nowhere to be found, they simply disable the third tower. With the barrier down, the Rtas takes his flagship to launch his assault, but at the last moment, High Charity exits the portal, immediately deploying dispersal pods, before crashing into the Ark in the distance. After fighting back the Flood, 343 Guilty Spark boards a phantom to attempt to find out how the Flood located the Ark. John-117, in the meantime, leads an armoured convoy in an assault on the Citadel, managing to smash the remnants of the Loyalist forces, and two Scarabs. With the Loyalist broken and beaten, John-117 and Thel 'Vadam, aided by Guilty Spark, enter the Citadel to put an end to Truth. However, they discover that Truth has Johnson, and Miranda quickly attempts to rescue him by crashing a Pelican into the Citadel. However, Truth simply kills her, using Johnson to begin the activation process of the Halo rings. John-117 and Thel 'Vadam arrive and, in a temporary alliance with the Flood, fight alongside the Gravemind's combat forms as they kill of the remainder of the Loyalist troops to reach Truth. Finally done, Thel 'Vadam kills Truth, who is half-infected by the Flood, and John-117 stops the Ark from activating. Johnson manages to escape, but the Gravemind intervenes, and John-117 and Thel 'Vadam, aided by Sentinels, quickly escape through fighting swarms of Flood. Arriving outside, John-117 uncovers a secret: the Ark is a Halo factory, and the replacement for Alpha Halo unveils itself, incomplete and vulnerable. 343 Guilty Spark reveals he knew about it, and asks what they'll do. John-117 says they will activate it, and says the secret lies with Cortana. Taking a Banshee, John-117 heads into the ruins of High Charity, fighting through the Flood-infested city to reach her, while the Gravemind taunts him the entire time. Finally, he rescues Cortana, before setting High Charity's reactor into meltdown. With the timely arrival of Thel 'Vadam to assist, they take a crashed Pelican and escape High Charity just its reactor detonates, destroying High Charity. Rtas 'Vadum takes his fleet and the UNSC ''Aegis Fate ''back through the portal, while Johnson takes the UNSC ''Forward Unto Dawn ''and parks it near the new Alpha Halo's Control Room. Meanwhile, John-117 and Thel 'Vadam crash their Pelican and proceed on foot to the Control Room. Fighting through Flood forces with the aid of more sentinels, they reach the Control Room the same time as Johnson does, and enter, with 343 Guilty Spark's help. However, when Johnson reveals their deliberate intent to destroy Alpha Halo and the Ark, 343 Guilty Spark betrays them once again, mortally wounding Johnson with his eye laser. Trapping Thel 'Vadam outside, John-117 is forced to fight Spark alone, but quickly equips Johnson's Spartan Laser, using it to damage and, eventually, kill Spark. With Spark dead, John-117 tries to save Johnson, but he dies, giving him Cortana. Cortana activates Alpha Halo, and the resulting activation causes the ring to begin tearing itself apart. With Thel 'Vadam, they fight their way through the remaining hordes of Flood and squadrons of Sentinels, reaching Johnson's Warthog. After escaping with the vehicle, they manage to escape on the ''Dawn just as Alpha Halo explodes, presumably taking the Ark with it. Afterwards, Hood holds a memorial service on Earth, one Thel 'Vadam is present for. It reveals that the portal collapsed due to the explosion from Alpha Halo just as the Dawn ''was going through it, causing the ship to be cut in half. Thel 'Vadam's half crashed in an unknown ocean, where he was then recovered by UNSC rescue crews. John-117's half was trapped with the Ark, and presumed dead. Thel 'Vadam, after shaking hands with Hood, departs on his phantom for the Shadow of Intent. Soon after, they depart for the Elite homeworld, Sanghelios. In a cutscene shown after the credits, we see the other half of the ''Dawn ''floating through space, showing that John-117 is in fact alive. He then enters cryo sleep, stating that Cortana wake him when she "needs him." The game then ends. In the Legendary ending, an extra few seconds afterward show the ''Dawn ''heading towards a previously unnamed planet, confirmed to be a Forerunner Shield World named Requiem in ''Halo 4. Campaign